Leonardo da Vinci is a legendary personality, a true titan of the Renaissance. He was simultaneously an artist, writer, engineer and scientist, in many ways anticipating his time.
Genius and artist
The future artist was born on April 15, 1452 in the town of Vinci near Florence in the family of a wealthy notary. The first teacher of Leonardo was the famous sculptor and painter Andreo dell Verrocchio. In 1472, Leonardo da Vinci left his teacher's workshop and began to work independently.
Around 1482, he left Florence for Milan, where he entered the service of the Duke Ludovico Moro. In Milan, Leonardo created several wonderful portraits: the musician Franchino Gaffurio, Cecilia Gallerani ("Lady with an Ermine"), an unknown lady, as well as the famous "Madonna Litta" and "Madonna of the Rocks", where he embodied his idea of an ideal person.
Using light airy chiaroscuro, the artist managed to achieve exceptional vitality of his "beautiful ladies".
Unfortunately, The Last Supper came down to us in poor condition. The fresco painted in fragile oil paints right on the wall was damaged by a flood as early as 1500.
The most famous work of the Milanese period is the painting in the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie "The Last Supper", which belongs to the heights of world art.
Around 1503, the artist painted the best of his portraits - the famous Mona Lisa ("La Gioconda"), the mystery of which has worried people for many centuries. This picture has become a real symbol of the height of the human spirit, the personification of the people of the Renaissance.
A few of Leonardo's paintings have come down to us. He worked slowly and did not devote much time to painting, considering himself, first of all, a scientist and engineer.
Leonardo - scientist
In Milan, Leonardo was commissioned to create an academy, where he subsequently taught anatomy. For these activities, da Vinci created about 240 drawings of human body parts and wrote a perspective study.
In 1499 the artist returned to Florence. Here he not only painted pictures, but also invented machines, erected canals. Leonardo spent a lot of time inventing all kinds of mechanical toys for the amusement of the secular public, he also studied and wrote a treatise on the reflection of mirrors.
In addition, Leonardo da Vinci created a detailed theory of realistic art of the Renaissance. The historically significant Treatise on Painting was compiled after the death of the master from his numerous notes.
Leonardo da Vinci died on May 2, 1519. In the funeral certificate, he is named a Milanese nobleman, the King's first painter, engineer and architect, as well as a state mechanic.
He achieved outstanding success in the field of architecture, Leonardo created several projects of the "ideal city", developed the forms of the central domed building, which was greatly developed during the High Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci is also credited with inventing the tank, bicycle, parachute, and robot.
